Guitar Accessory Reviews

Accessory Reviews: In depth reviews of guitar accessories

Check out these cool guitar accessories under review on tonymckenzie.com

There's no doubt about it, accessories when you play a guitar are a must have. Whether it's things like guitar strings, picks, cleaning and polishing fluids to get rid of those scratches, amp tubes, guitar leads, batteries, power modules, guitar stands, tuners, or any of the thousands of things we all spend our money on without most of them you won't be playing guitar any time soon in any meaningful way.

But is there such a thing as a 'good' or 'bad' accessory? Absolutely there is and I found out the hard way. Take guitar leads which is a good example. They cost from say £10 ($15) to £100 ($150) these days and no doubt some hair brained maniac will come up with some excuse to raise the bar even further. But is there really ten times the cost improvement in build of the cable and more importantly the sound? I doubt that, no matter what some weird scientist might tell us it's likely you won't hear the difference anytime soon.

Things like guitar stands don't sound very endearing in the whole view of accessories, but with the wrong ones you will be marking your guitar or worse, watch it as it falls over from using rubbish guitar stands. It ALL matters.

Below are some accessories I have bought myself mainly (if they have ever been given to me I say so) and later reviewed. If I find them to be less than the maker said, then I say so. So check out these accessories and you just might find something that is actually a great find for you.

Kemper DI Box

While the Kemper amp is these days more well known, the DI box is probably less known especially at the price. But can this little box help you to achieve more realistic tones than a microphone? Find out in this review.

The Guitarists Solo & Songwriting Companion

A book that I found extremely useful for understanding modes in a simple way. But it has far more than that in there too... and it will help you to easily understand music and playing ways that you might not have thought possible. Click the image to read more.

Fender Volume Knob Fix-up

Ever get annoyed with that pesky Fender volume knob being in the way and getting knocked all of the time? Here's a handy fix that I came up with. Click the image for more info.

Meze NEO Headphones

A funny place to find a review of the Meze NEO headphones? Not at all, if you use these sort of things all the time then thses headphones could be for you. Click the image to read more.

Proel WM240 Wireless for Guitar

This Proel 2.4 Ghz wireless guitar system is really low budget, but it can make 100 feet (or 25 metres) before giving up the ghost. Check it out by clicking on the image to read more.

Axe-Handler Guitar Stands

Axe-handler guitar stands are probably the simplest and most compact of all guitar stands out there. Check them out in this close up review. Click the image to find out more.

D and A Guitar Stands

There is little out there that commands your attention in the accessory world more than a guitar stand. You trust your prized guitar with it and depend on the guitar not falling over or getting adversely marked from rubbers and plastics that could do untold harm to your often expensive guitar. D&A sent me these stands to review (I did not pay for them) but they turned out to be really cool stuff and substantially better than some of the other competitive stands available. Find out what I thought of these stands and wall hangers for guitar in my no holds barred review. Click the image to read more about this.

Dragons Heart Picks

While these picks might look a little strange compared to most others out there, they are made of some very special material and that shape, oh that shape... it could be everything to everyone? but is it? and can this pick offer something that the others lack? These picks were supplied free of charge to me for review. Click the image to read and see more.

V Picks - Never drop a pick again!

We have all been there right? Ask yourself how many times you have dropped your guitar pick while playing. You will see loads of guitarists with picks stuck all over their guitars and that's not because they just want to look cool, it's because no matter who you are or how good you are you will drop that darned pick. I bought these picks specifically because the maker said that I would not drop this one! So how did these picks work out and were they really an end to dropping my pick in reality or was it all some marketing hype? Find out more by clicking the image to read more.

Sanyo Eneloop Pedal Juice Battery Eliminator

Sanyo is a name synonymous with guitar accessories for some time including tuners. But this 'Eneloop' battery eliminator came out a few years ago and I had one for review to see if the unit could handle real hard work on a pedal board. The results were dramatic and compelling to see. In this review I tested the thing way beyond what anyone would do in reality. But did this battery eliminator do the job? Click the image for more info.

Orange VT1000 Tube Tester

Anyone who uses tube amps for playing guitar knows of the problems associated with bad tubes... but if not, it may not be long before you do and the results can be terminal for your amp. My wife bought this Orange tube tester for Christmas and so I decided to review it with one of my 'inside and out' reviews. It's a pretty useful piece of gear and can save your amplifier from destruction. That is, if it works! So how does this unit stack up - it's pretty expensive so buying one of these maybe not for the casual user or is it? Click the image to go there.

Becos On-Board Micro Preamp for Guitar

I guess like me on occasion I have wanted (or needed?) more drive from my guitar pickups. I could fit those higher output pickups that are around, but those affect the tone right? I reviewed a neat little device from Becos that is effectively a clean booster for your guitar pickup outputs that can increase output dramatically at the flick of a switch. I did a review of this device by fitting it in to my Fender 2008 Stratocaster. Check out whether this was worth the effort and read the review by clicking on the picture.

Tone Shaper Ultimate Switching System for Guitar

Let's face it, the original switching on most guitars is decades old. And along with that age comes obsolescence really. Think about it, all those other guitar tones that could be literally at the flick of a switch if only the guitar wiring and switching was changed. I have a friend Thomas Golden that told me about the Tone Shaper for guitar so I bought one for a Stratocaster. They also make Telecaster and other guitar versions too. But exactly how good did this switching unit turn out to be? and was it worth the time and effort to fit? Click the picture to see more.

Bladerunner Tremolo System from Super Vee for Stratocaster

When I decided to make my 'Blue' Stratocaster I wanted to get the best gear in the world together with innovation to include in the design. I looked everywhere for a 'better' tremolo system that could fit a regular old style tremolo fitting with 6 holes and found the Bladerunner from Super Vee. This tremolo revolutionised how my guitar would play and changed my view about other brand tremolos that I could have fitted. Click the image for more information.

Gilroy Stratocaster Real Wood Pick Guard

I have often looked around for accessories that will in one way or another enhance the work I am going to do. Gilroy pick guards and scratch plates are made in Australia but don't hold that against Peter Gilroy, he's a fine artisan at making pick guards for different guitars. This is a review of the one on the right made for a Stratocaster and if you want luxury on your stratocaster the Gilroy guard is something to behold and hand made too! Click the image to see more about this item.

David White 'Old Glory' Pickups for Stratocaster

Once in a while something comes along that is special. I bought a set of David White pickups for my stratocaster back in the early 90's. But since then these pickups have become some of the finest sounding pickups you can buy for a fender Stratocaster. Unfortunately David is no longer of this earth, but if you find a set of these grab them immediately you will not get a second chance. For the whole review simply click the image to read more.

Bare Knuckle Pickups

Some years ago I was wandering around a guitar show and saw Tim from Bare Knuckle pickups. At that time Tim was talking about his pickups and the advantages of 'scatter wound' pickups for guitar that he was making. That were and still do get much talk about how they sound. But what do you really know about 'scatter wound' pickups and are this style of pickup worth buying? Find out in this review I did from the pickups I bought at the time. Click the image to see more.

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Pickups

Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups are made to replicate some early 50's Fender Stratocaster pickups that Seymour himself owns. From how they look they are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But the question is, do these expensive pickups actually sound like their originals? Check out the review by clicking the image to read more.

Boss E-Band JS-8 Practice and Recording Machine

Is this a toy? The Boss e-Band JS-8 at launch many guys curled up their noses and said they would never use such tosh! But in reality, this little device (and its counterpart the later JS-10) is awesome for practice and if you're not actually in a band... well now you can be! I bought one when they first came out and used it all the time for practice. Later my grandson gained this one. But check this short review to see exactly what this unit is like by clicking on the image to read more.

Hand Wired JTM45 Replacement Board

Buying a hand wired replacement main board for your reissue amplifier could be a good idea if you're in to old style amps. I bought this board some time ago for my JTM45 but what was it like when I fitted the board to my amp? Was this the best upgrade I could achieve and did I regret it all later? Find out in this short review by clicking the image to read more.

Kemper Amp MIDI Program from Everglades Audio

The Kemper amplifier is one great amp. But there really was never any great piece of software editor so the man at Everglades Audio decided to make one. It looks cool so I decided to make a short introductory review about this software. Click the image to read the review.

Kemper Remote Floor Controller

Kemper never had a floor controller and using regular MIDI pedals was 'OK' but not that dynamic. In 2015 Kemper finally introduced their own pedal.. it had been coming for some time. Features even included a looper, but is the Kemper floor pedal a good buy and is it better than a regular midi pedal? Find out in this 'inside and out' review by clicking the image to read more.

Warmoth 'Brownie' Body Review

When I wanted a Stratocaster body to make the 'best stratocaster in the world' guitar I chose Warmoth because they offered loads of custom features. This is a short review of the natural body that I used. Compare this with the 'blue' body below and you will see that each body is really quite different. This natural body was bought 'off the shelf' and the 'blue' body was custom ordered. Click the image to read more.

Warmoth 'Blue' Body Review

When I set out to make the 'Blue' guitar I really tried hard to actually make a stratocaster that was as good as could be developed at the time with cutting edge features. This body was completely custom made right down to the wood weight used and Warmoth mainly complied. Find out all about this unique body by clicking on the image to read more.